Do you love creating delicious meals, keeping a kitchen organized, and making a difference in the lives of young children? As our Preschool Cook, you'll help fuel each child's day by preparing nutritious meals and snacks in a safe, clean, and welcoming kitchen. Beyond meal preparation, you'll help keep our school running smoothly by maintaining an organized kitchen, managing inventory, following health and safety standards, and jumping in to support the team wherever needed. If you're dependable, flexible, enjoy working with children, and take pride in creating a warm and caring environment, we'd love to have you on our team! We offer a supportive workplace with competitive benefits, including health insurance and childcare tuition discounts for eligible employees.
Education and Experience:
- At least 18 years of age (25 if responsible for driving a bus)
- Hold a high school diploma or equivalent
- Knowledge and understanding of all current State and Local regulations.
Primary Job Duties and Responsibilities:
- Menu is posted and followed, with appropriate substitutions made when necessary. Substitutions are documented properly.
- Meals and snacks are prepared and served in a timely manner.
- Wash, sanitize, and properly store reusable dishes, utensils, cups, serving items, and kitchen equipment as part of daily meal preparation and cleanup duties.
- Effective use of storage units, and food is labeled, organized, rotated.
- Food and paper items are inventoried weekly and items ordered appropriately and in accordance with budget guidelines.
- Uses problem solving skills to increase productivity, maintain relationships, and maintain cost control.
- Consistently clean and maintained on ongoing basis, counters, shelves, floors, appliances.
- Follows Children’s Lighthouse Kitchen Manager guidelines, systems, and requirements.
- Uses proper sanitation, safety, and preparation procedures as required by local and state agencies.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
- Must be safety conscious at all times of self and others. Will frequently lift as in lifting, carrying, shelving groceries, and lifting/carrying infants and children.
- Required to stand and/or walk up to 90% of the day, as needed.
- Must be able to stoop, bend and sit, maintain kitchen, and assist in classrooms if needed.
- Able to physically and mentally interact and react to children on the playground and/or in the classroom and attend to their needs.
General Areas:
- Completes and submits all records as required, including time sheets, menu postings, inventory, purchases, incident reports and any other required documentation.
- Helps to maintain ratios in classrooms by filling in for absent staff members when necessary, in the early morning and naptime hours as necessary, and assist with bus runs.
- Supports all Children’s Lighthouse policies and procedures as states in manuals, handbooks, and official memos.
- Good role model including attendance, dress code, attitude
- Does not participate in gossip
- Open to change - Flexible and able to adapt
- Attends staff meetings
- Able and willing to accept direction, feedback, and evaluation
- Uses good judgment in all areas.
- Walkthrough counts and other management support duties as assigned.
- Completes additional duties and responsibilities as assigned.
The Kitchen Manager reports to school management team, Assistant Director, and/or School Director.
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: $17.00 - $20.00 per hour
Benefits:
- Dental insurance
- Flexible schedule
- Health insurance
- Paid time off
- Vision insurance
Application Question(s):
- Do you have experience in childcare? If so, please explain.
- Are you comfortable covering restroom and/or lunch breaks in classrooms if needed?
- Are you eligible and comfortable to drive an Activity Bus for grocery pickup if needed?
- Do you have experience following USDA/State Food requirements and portion sizing?
Work Location: In person
